Reckoning: Chapter 48
by Michelle.Lee.PDX
Summary: Dru tries to control the mind of a zombie and the results are a little messy. She sees a crushing vision of the past through her new magical skills as a sorceress/psychic. Even though Graves is away, Dru still manages to dream about him.


The zombie's eyes, dead brown and red veined, looked into mine. A chill went through my body as I remembered a man with sandy blond hair and a lanky, muscular body, who always wore a military jacket. He was my dad, the former marine sergeant who always came for me when it counted. Of all the ways that Dad could have died, being turned into a Walker had to be the worst way to go. _For him_ _and for me._

A hand touched my left elbow. "Milady, are you listening?"

"What? Yes, I'm here." I shook my head and tried to focus on the present.

Leander spoke by annunciating every word thoroughly. "I can see that this is difficult for you given your personal experience with a particular revenant?"

It made me uncomfortable that Leander seemed to read my mind and my body language so accurately, as if I was predictable. "Um, you could say its something like that." _Hell yeah! "Difficult" doesn't even begin to describe it._

He moved on with his thoughts. "The _schola_ was attacked only three days ago by the likes of these, was it not?" He raised his arm in the direction of the zombie girl.

"Yeah, there were a hundred or more of them, like a hoard. I'd never seen anything like that before."

Leander paused before adding his thoughts. "Yes, Magdalena is a very powerful sorceress."

"She did that? How?" I was astonished that one person, even a _svetocha_, could do things like that.

"With a spell and tremendous psychic ability to control the simplier-minded."

"Can you do that too and will you teach me?" _Now there's a skill I could use._

"Those are two very different things, Milady. I can teach you, yes. However my powers are not as strong as Milady Gogol's. Honestly, I am not capable of doing what she has recently performed." My shoulders slumped a bit. _"_However, _you_ have the potential of doing such things. And I believe _you_ are capable of many miraculous things, my _rajkumari_."

Leander turned toward the zombie's cage. He closed his eyes then raised his right hand. The zombie was pacing the glass box in a bored kind of way. It finally stopped and turned towards Leander. It raised its left hand in a mirrored fashion. Leander swept his arm in a circular movement, which the zombie followed exactly. Finally he brought his hands into prayer position and bowed slightly. So did the zombie.

"You have to be kidding me, right?"

"No, Milady, there is no humor here."

I smiled at him and tried not to laugh. "No, it's just an expression, Leander. I didn't literally mean that you were _joking_ me." He gave me a look that told me he didn't get it, so I continued on. "No, see people say that when they can't believe what they just saw. It's called sarcasm." Leander looked even more confused. "Forget it." I smiled and figured it would probably take a day just to explain American teenage linguistics to him.

"Okay, that was pretty cool. Is it my turn now?" I clapped my hands and bobbed up and down a few times.

"Milady, it is best not to try until…" I didn't hear Leander finish. I had already closed my eyes for a second and focused on the Walker. The world tuned out as I focused my energy on communication with the thing. "Come to me." It stopped pacing and turned in my direction. _It's working!_

The zombie suddenly ran with human speed at the glass wall, banged itself into the container and splayed onto the floor. The angular bridge of its nose crumbled into chunky pieces. _That is not at all what I was expecting to happen._

Surprisingly it stood up and paused. Without warning the thing ran towards me again, ramming into the wall, and bouncing onto the floor with a throaty grunt. I could see the zombie's right eye had popped out of its bony socket, exposing the dangling ball and optic nerve. _Stop! Just stop!_

It crawled onto all fours attempting to stand again but had difficulty because its left hand was tattered at the wrist. Only a few strands of dried muscle and tendon were holding it onto the arm. Its facial expression was vapid but it looked persistent in following orders.

_I'm going to vomit. _I held my hand up to my mouth to stop the realistic possibility of gagging. "Okay, I'm sorry. I get it! Please make it stop!" I turned toward Leander and gave him a desperate look. He nodded his head while blinking very slowly. I took that as a sign of help. I quickly moved to stand behind him, keeping my mouth shut.

Leander raised his right hand as the zombie was preparing to rush the glass again now that it was back on two legs. I closed my eyes and cringed, not wanting to see the self-dismembering sight again.

"_virAma_!" The zombie launched itself at the glass. Just before it made contact, it stopped itself and stood, arms dangling forward, back slumping and head hanging low. It returned to making hollow gasping noises from its empty throat.

I was stunned into silence as my heart beat rapidly. My face was red and hot with humiliation.

Leander turned to me after a moment of silence. "To answer your question…yes, it is your turn, Milady." He extended his arm to point in the direction of the door to the first classroom. "Shall we begin with something more diminutive like our friend, the honey bee?" I followed his lead and left the room quietly.

Two and a half hours later, I ascended the steps of the basement level and found Dibs waiting for me at the top. I was emotionally exhausted and physically drained already.

"Hey." I half smiled at him. I still wasn't sure if I could trust any of the _wulfen_ totally or even partially. If they were hiding something about Graves from me, I didn't understand why.

"Milady." He spoke the word awkwardly. His curly blond bangs were styled long and to the side so only one eye was visible.

"Dibs, really that's not necessary." I kept on walking down the hallway.

"How's your back today, Dru?" The medic in him had to go there.

"It's okay, I guess. Still feels stiff, but its almost healed. Being _svetocha_ has its perks." I gave him a half-smile.

"Dru, we gotta talk. Can you hold up?" He pleaded with me in his shy tone.

I took a deep breath then stood to face him with my hands in my pockets. "I'm listening, Dibs."

He took a breath before speaking. "I heard what happened this morning. Don't be mad at us. We've been told not to talk about _wulfen_ stuff with anyone, especially things about Graves. We're in a really awkward spot right now. Please try to understand, Dru."

I fidgeted and fought back the urge to scream out of frustration. _Why all the secrecy? I'm his best friend, or was, so I have a right to know. _I paced back and forth on the floor trying to stay cool. "But it's me, Dibs. I'm your friend, at least I thought."

Dibs seemed tortured as he spoke. "You know that _wulfen_ and _djamphire_ haven't gotten along historically. Even though we have a treaty, it's not like we're all on equal terms. I know you're different with us Dru, and as much as we wanna share, we're not allowed to. You're technically still one of them." He looked at the floor as he finished, avoiding my gaze.

"One of what? I may be born Kourio and Maharaj but I'm still just me. These things don't make me automatically untrustworthy. Those are just labels!" I breathed deeply trying to control my anger.

"Dru, we're in a system that has rules we have to follow."

I walked in reverse as I talked, fighting the urge to lose my shit. "Yeah, well the system sucks for me right now. Sorry, Dibs." I didn't want to hurt Dibs' feelings but this was something I didn't want to understand. _Why can't he see that I'm different? I can be trusted, you know?_

Still fuming from the conversation, I made my way over to the gym to pound the bag to let off some steam. I entered the cavernous room with apprehension and to my relief it was empty. I pulled on the gloves and started jabbing furiously at the bag until the sweat dripped into my eyes. My hair stuck to my neck as I concentrated all my effort on punching while moving in a circular motion around the bag. The tight jeans I was wearing constricted my movement as I bobbed and tried to bend my knees. Regardless, I front kicked the bag, which sent it swaying up to the ceiling. _That felt pretty damn good. _

I noticed a presence in the room with me. I looked around but didn't see anyone. I listened with intense concentration. My aspect flooded through me and my fangs extended. I sniffed the air and smelled the familiar odor of leather and gunpowder. "Augustine, I know it's you, so just come on out."

"Can't fool you, Dru girl. Can I?" August stepped forward and uncamouflaged himself from the cement-blocked wall. He gave me a cocky smile.

"No shit." I grinned back at him, overall happy to see his friendly face. August was in his typical uniform of jeans, boots and a flannel shirt with a white tee. His five o'clock shadow gave me the impression that he was tired. "Where've you been? I missed your sorry ass." Augie knew more about my past than anyone at the _schola_ and it was comforting not having to explain myself to anyone. He was my last remaining link to Dad, and possibly Mom. _Did you know my mom very well, Augie? I always wanted to ask._

"Reconnaissance duty for the Order. I was out in La-La Land doing whatever." I was curious about who assigns August to do the things he does, but didn't have the energy to pry. I unlaced and pulled off the gloves, relishing the feeling of cool air on my sweaty hands.

There was no use beating around the bush at this point. "Did you hear Christophe _dumped _me today? Do you happen to know who my new trainer is?" _Maybe the word _dumped_ isn't quite right since we were never really going out. But it sure feels like he broke up with me since we made out a few times, which is definitely beyond _first base.

August looked fidgety awkward as if he was struggling between offering a consoling shoulder to cry on or a handshake to congratulate me. "Uh, okay. I'm sorry to hear Reynard left, Dru. Shit, he only told me he was leaving yesterday. That's why I'm here actually."

He paused for a minute before getting down to business. "The good news is, I'm your new _malaika _teacher. The bad news is, I'm your new _malaika_ teacher. God knows I'm not as good as Reynard, so at this point, you're probably gonna kick my ass everyday."

August's sense of humor was self-deprecating and I liked it. I was feeling a little better and gave him a snarky retort. "I'm looking forward to it, Augustine. Bring it on." I motioned to him with my fingers.

A week later, I found myself sitting on the teak stool in room B28 listening to Leander's melodic voice describe the basics of psychometry. "Token object reading is a tricky but highly valuable skill if mastered, Milady."

I kept eyeing my mother's black and white cow, cookie jar and wondering when I'd get to lay my hands on it. After last week's zombie cage rage, I learned my lesson about not leaping into anything I didn't understand well enough, especially in the magic department.

"Listen well, Milady." Leander handed me the silver flask from the table as he continued on. "Each of these objects has a dominant owner whom you will see upon invoking the spell." He wrote an incantation on the board with chalk.

_Twisted time passing through_

_Bring the past into view_

"Focus on the object and do not look away. Speak these words in your mind three times over. When you are ready, _Rajkumari_." Leander sat on the stool with his hands in prayer position and head slightly bowed in waiting.

I took a deep inhale and stared down at the silver metal flask. I noticed that it was smooth all around except for an etching of a midevil dragon on one side. There was a banner above it with the words in a language I guessed was in Latin. Before I could read further, the world around the flask in my hands liquefied.

The sound of muffled voices came from a distant location. It sounded like voices of girls, several of them overlapping each other. The scene came into focus as the watery environment pulled taught. The scent of cinnamon, perfume and spices was in the air. It was the distinct scent of _svetocha_.

"Maria, please focus on position three. You are not in alignment with the others." The voice was familiar. It carried an accent of Gothic descent. The individual who was speaking had dark hair and a classic Romanesque look. _Dylan._

"A qué hora es el desayuno?" Maria spoke in a voice that seemed exasperated.

"How about we get through practice before we think about breakfast, if you please, Milady." The Spanish-speaking _svetocha's_ blond hair curled into spirals as the aspect waved through her profile. She was dangerously beautiful with huge brown eyes and long eyelashes. She was curvy in the hips and one could see that she had strong athletic thighs. Her black riding pants hugged her legs closely.

"Dylan, in position five, do we plant the foot flat or stay on the ball?" The _svetocha_ who spoke was eye-catching. Her hair was reddish brown and she had green eyes, almost like Graves', which seemed to illuminate on their own. "That is an excellent question, Milady Eleanor. Do any of you know the answer?"

The five _svetochas _held in position and looked at Dylan. Each of them had uniquely beautiful features. Each was athletic in build and exquisite in her own right. One girl raised her hand and when Dylan noticed, she spoke confidently. "Stay on the ball because you need to be prepared to pivot if your opponent comes at you."

Dylan smiled pleasingly at her. He seemed almost elated. "That is correct Milady Magdalena." She nodded her head and cooly downplayed the positive reaction from Dylan.

The scene liquefied before me and I lost sight of the five young women in training. _Damn! When was this and what happened to them?_

I still had the flask in hand as the watery air around me became clear. I first heard the sound of running feet and _svetocha_ screams. Then noises of gunfire and swords, the _malaika_, cutting the air and flesh, echoed through the building and onto the grounds. Finally I saw the chaos happening in front of me. At the front entry steps to the the Prima, Magdalena was lying on the ground with her head in Bruce's arm. His face was tortured and gray looking. The _svetocha_'s fanged mouth was pouring blood. Her eyes were wild and spacey. Blood, mostly Lena's blood, was everywhere. Dylan came running in from the right. "Lena! Talk to me. She's not responding. What happened Bruce?" He looked to the Kouroi and noticed that his wrist was punctured with two holes. Dylan's eyes were wide with fear. "Did you transfuse her alone?

The sound of howling _wulfen_ echoed in the thick tree lined hills nearby. Bruce slowly nodded his head as if he was in shock. "A league of Broken attacked at dusk. We were unprepared and they singled her out. She got one of Sergej's _wulfen_ over there when she was able to control its mind. But there were too many of them for one _svetocha_, even with her powers. Milady needed blood or else, so I…" He couldn't finish his sentence.

Dylan looked at Lena's eyes. They were frozen over with icy blue glass. They looked almost plastic. From the east, I saw someone who almost made me want call out to him for attention, but I knew I was only seeing the past. Christophe ran towards them and seemed momentarily stunned at the sight of his sister lying on the ground in that position. He kneeled down and picked up her left hand. "_Siostra_, do you hear me?" Lena did not answer to anyone's calls, not even her little brother's.

Bruce attempted to explain in a mumbled voice. "I had no choice… she was going to die… but she was too powerful… I could not break away." _The blood dark had already taken effect._

Again the scene became watery as I was forced to let go of the visual. I didn't want to see anymore anyways. My heart ached for everyone, especially Dylan. Magdalena was his _svetocha_. And he was her One.

The flask was clear and shiny in my hands. I felt the cold metal grow warmer with the touch of my fingers. The scene clarified again to show me something I was unprepared for.

Christophe was standing on the roof of the _schola_ looking down at the grounds. I could hear voices from _djamphire_ and _wulfen_ yelling in the distance. It sounded like the calm after a storm. "Reynard, did you hear me?" It was Dylan's voice again. I looked to my right and saw him sitting with his back to the wall, head hung low, clothes bloodied and torn. Christophe was similarly covered in red fluids and was holding his arm as if it was injured.

"I did." Christophe turned away from Dylan, walking toward the stairs to the lower levels.

Dylan bellowed at him in an almost distraught way. "What are you going to do now, kill her?" Christophe paused with the vocalization of those words.

"What else can be done? She has committed treason and murder. Lena is lost." Dylan sighed and remained silent. He fidgeted uncomfortably against the stone.

Christophe continued in a cracked and emotional voice. "I know, _przyjaciel_. There is no other choice unless by some miracle the Maharaj could bind her from further harm. She is with Sergej now and there is no bringing her back again. Lena knows too much to remain free… or alive." Dylan wiped his face with his battle-scarred hands. The internal struggle showed on his face.

Christophe paused for several moments contemplating his choices. Finally he walked towards the exiting stairs. He turned to look at Dylan one last time. "There is no other way, _kolega_. Lena killed all of our hope today in one sweep. The darkness has made her ruthless and a psychopath."

The scene washed into blurriness as the silver flask went flat cold in my hands. I was light headed and disoriented but found myself still quietly sitting on the wooden stool in Leander's classroom. I could hear the scuttling sound of animals in their terrariums. I set the flask upright on the table nearby.

Leander was sitting across from me looking down as he drew symbols in a notebook. I was speechless for once. _I have so many questions I don't even know where to begin. What did Christophe mean when he said that Lena killed all of their hope? Where has Magdalena been all this time? Can she be cured from the darkness? Is she part Maharaj too, like me? Where in the world is Christophe?_

When I finally got back to my room, I crashed so hard from exhaustion that I didn't bother taking my shoes off. I fell asleep fully clothed, again.

_Graves was standing in the middle of a wooden deck behind a discreet forest estate. There were huge redwoods around the property and in the distance immense rock formations jutted the landscape. He stood with his legs widely spread and knees slightly bent. He moved slowly and gracefully as he pushed his arms as if he was in water. He was not alone. There were six _wulfen_ in all, moving in Tai Chi unison. _

_Graves stole a glance at another student who stood to the front left of him. She was petite in height and build and had hair of a deep shade. Her espresso-colored eyes were framed by long lashes. Her skin was ivory and porcelain-esque. She was strikingly beautiful and seemed unflappable. _

_The _loup-garou's_ eyes shifted to her profile again. However, she maintained her focus. No guy was going to throw her off her game. They were competitors after all. As his gaze returned forward, Graves' mouth half-smirked. The look on his face could only be described as… interested._

**Readers: Who is this wulfen girl that has caught Graves' attention? What else will Dru learn about Magdalena by reading the objects in Leander's room? Will Dru make up with her wulfen friends and forgive them for keeping secrets from her? Read on for more.**


End file.
